Science fiction and futuristic movies stepped into reality today as a
result of powerful new touchless gesturing technology from Elliptic Labs
(www.ellipticlabs.com)
based on ultrasound. Enabling consumer electronic devices to respond to natural
hand movements all around a screen, Elliptic's breakthrough
technology is the first of its kind commercially available and has been
incorporated in the Windows 8 Gesture Suite, introduced today. See
video here.

Elliptic is the leader in ultrasonic touchless gesturing for consumer
electronic devices. Its patented, low-power, responsive new technology
is superior to the limited, camera-based approaches on the market. The Windows
8 Gesture Suite enables a touchless version of all touchscreen
gestures in the new operating system. Combined with Elliptic’s SDK, the
technology gives OEMs the flexibility to create disruptive new ways to
interact with devices.

Elliptic’s ultrasound technology uses sound waves and microphones to
detect movement, similar to how radar detects objects. The technology is
not limited to detecting movement within camera view -- it detects
natural hand movements that extend beyond the camera, surrounding a
device screen.

“Microsoft’s new metro interface changes how consumers interact with the
operating system and the design is a perfect fit for touchless gestures.
Elliptic’s Windows 8 Gesture Suite gives users a touchless version of
the gestures they already know from a touchscreen,” said Tobias Dahl,
CTO and founder of Elliptic Labs.

“The future of technology lies in moving from touchscreen to gesture
recognition, but to date, using cameras has proved limiting and
unnatural to users,” he said. “Ultrasonic gesture technology uses
sensors to deliver its capabilities and extends gesture-space to all
sides of the screen, ensuring that the technology is robust and --
unlike cameras -- can be used in dark and bright light.”

Ultrasonic touchless technology uses up to 95% less power than current
camera image-based gestural systems, making it an attractive option for
device manufacturers around the world. Elliptic provides a Starter Kit
for laptops; an out-of-the box solution that allows customers and
partners to get started with ultrasound-based gestures without designing
hardware. It also comes with an SDK that incorporates natural gestures
into devices and delivers an extensive range of example applications.
With the SDK, customer and partners can create disruptive new ways to
interact with devices and applications beyond Windows 8. The set of
controls allows using gestures for scrolling, selecting, rotating
objects and controlling menus.

Elliptic’s software is in high demand by large OEM, ODMs and component
and chip manufactures that are looking to integrate new capabilities
allowing consumers to interact with tablets, ultrabooks and smartphones.